Seattle Multimodal Terminal at Colman Dock Project - What to expect during construction

April construction update

Several vehicle holding lanes have shifted locations to make room for construction of a temporary elevated walkway connecting the Marion Street Pedestrian Bridge to the new terminal building. Construction will continue until mid-summer.

What to expect April through mid-summer 2019

Vehicle holding lanes in the center section of the dock will close periodically to make room for overhead walkway construction.

Lanes on the southern section of the dock and those below the new terminal building reopen to ease capacity.

Construction of the first portion of the terminal building, the passenger-only facility and new elevator on the south side of the dock near completion.

No changes for walk-on customers until summer.

Drive-on entrance remains at South Jackson Street, with overflow holding at Pier 48.

The entire north half of our Seattle terminal is now under construction and closed to vehicles waiting for a ferry. The toll plaza and the vehicle waiting lanes south of the terminal building remains open while the north half is closed.

When the waiting lanes are full, drivers will be directed to wait at the off-site overflow vehicle waiting area located near the drive-on entrance on Pier 48. Drivers should plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before their scheduled sailing to accommodate the smaller dock, especially during peak commute times. These changes are needed so crews can rebuild the north half of the dock while continuing construction of the new terminal building and the passenger-only ferry facility on the south half.

Shifting the vehicle holding areas allows us to make the most efficient use of available vehicle holding space on the dock as construction expands through mid-summer 2019.

This change also allows us to offer full ferry service for millions of commuters and ferry riders while working to rebuild the aging and seismically-vulnerable Seattle ferry terminal at the same time.

What else is being done to maximize room for vehicles waiting for the ferry at Colman Dock?

Our contractor is using up to three barges at a time to operate very large construction cranes and stage necessary equipment that would otherwise need to be stored on the dock. We are working on four different sections of the project at the same time. Crews are building the new passenger-only ferry terminal and the first section of the new main ferry terminal building while demolishing the northwest corner of the main terminal building in use today and rebuilding the entire north half of the trestle, between the terminal building and the temporary passenger-only ferry dock

All of the work on this complex project is happening while we maintain full ferry service to and from Seattle. ​

Terminal space is limited during construction through early 2023

Through Mid- 2019

Summer 2019 until project completion in 2023

The entire former terminal building is demolished. Full ferry service to and from Bainbridge Island and Bremerton continues to operate out of the southern half of the new terminal building. Elevated walkways connect to the King County Water Taxi and Kitsap Transit Fast Ferry passenger-only ferry dock and to Alaskan Way and the Marion Street Bridge.

What to expect this summer: Moving into a smaller terminal building

The passenger terminal building remains open, but it is much smaller and has fewer amenities. A smaller terminal building allows crews enough room to work as safely and efficiently as possible while we maintain full ferry service. The passenger-only ferry dock, servicing the King County Water Taxi and the Kitsap Transit Fast Ferry, opens to the public in summer 2019.

The smaller terminal building maintains:

Ticket sales

ADA accessible restrooms

Some seating

Limited food options

Information booth

Visual paging services

Full ferry service with no cuts to the number of sailings

Pedestrian connections to Alaskan Way and the Marion Street Bridge

The first portion of the new terminal building will open in summer 2019. The temporary Marion Street Bridge and the elevated walkways connecting the bridge to the new terminal building will also open at that same time. Then, the existing terminal building will close for demolition.

No change for drive-on access

There will be no changes to the vehicle entrance or exits at this time. People who drive onto a ferry will continue to enter at South Jackson Street from northbound or southbound Alaskan Way. All drive-on customers, including cars, trucks, vanpools and motorcycles, will use the same entrance. Terminal attendants will direct traffic and manage overflow vehicle holding during the afternoon commute and busy weekends. This configuration remains in effect until the project is complete in early 2023. The next change to vehicle exit routes is anticipated in summer 2021.

How to access the new terminal on foot or with non-motorized transportation

The entrance to the new terminal building is on the second floor, above the vehicle holding lanes. There will be two ways to get inside the building.

Overhead walkway - an elevated pedestrian bridge between the street (Alaskan Way) and the new terminal building. This bridge may be accessed by stairs on street level, or via the temporary Marion Street Bridge.

Elevator located on southwest corner of the dock - The elevator on Alaskan Way will be closed and a new pair of elevators open at the southwest corner on the dock near the new passenger-only ferry facility. Customers will use a new walkway on the south side of the Yesler Way to reach the elevators. There will also be a new elevated walkway from these elevators to the portion of the new terminal building.

A ticket booth will be available on the elevated walkway, at the corner of Alaskan Way and Columbia Street on the dock. Customers will buy tickets here before entering the queuing area on the elevated walkway. For customers using the elevator, they will enter the terminal building and then proceed to the ticket booth at the end of the elevated walkway. Customers with limited mobility can talk to terminal staff for assistance buying a ticket.